Posts Tagged ‘Huntington Township’

Partnership of two energy companies lines up area covering over 25,000 acres in the Back Mountain for gas exploration.

By Jerry Lynottjlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer

Just a few sites have been approved for natural gas drilling in Luzerne County, but a partnership of two energy companies has signed leases for more than 25,000 acres, primarily in the Back Mountain, to explore the Marcellus Shale formation that runs underneath.

Since September, Whitmar Exploration Co., of Denver, Colo., has been signing leases with property owners in nine townships and Harveys Lake borough. The company has been working with EnCana Oil & Gas USA Inc. in a joint venture to develop the properties. EnCana holds a 75 percent interest in the leases and is responsible for drilling.

Whitmar wanted to partner with an experienced operator, said Wendy Wiedenbeck, a public and community relations adviser for EnCana.

“This is what we do,” said Wiedenbeck. “We have a team working on this project that possesses deep experience gained from working on similar projects across North America.”

EnCana received approval Tuesday from the Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board to sink a well in Lake Township and set up a natural gas metering station in Fairmount Township. In April, Lehman Township officials approved drilling for another well.

Wiedenbeck on Wednesday confirmed a map provided to The Times Leader was one EnCana prepared for the Back Mountain Community Partnership to show the extent of the leaseholds.

She cautioned that “the map is quite dated,” having been created in February. Whitmar has signed additional leases into April, according to a search of the county property database.

Wiedenbeck said EnCana’s presence will grow in the region. “As we move forward, EnCana is acquiring new leases.”

When pieced together, the leases cover large swatches of land in the largely rural northern and western sections of the county. The leaseholds range in size from under 1 acre to over 100 acres.

Fairmount Township had the most coverage with approximately 7,500 acres leased, according to the map. Lehman and Ross townships each had nearly 4,300 acres leased; Lake Township, close to 2,600 acres; Jackson Township, 2,400 acres; Huntington Township, 1,400 acres; Dallas Township, 1,300 acres; Hunlock Township, 700 acres; Union Township, 400 acres; Plymouth Township, 200 acres; and Harveys Lake, 50 acres.

The region has also attracted the attention of another major player in the natural gas industry.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has signed 93 leases since August 2007. More than two-thirds of them were filed this year, according to county property records.

Copyright: Times Leader

Company files documents to drill in Luzerne County, has leased 17,500 acres.

By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter

Natural gas drilling may be about to boom in Luzerne County.

Denver-based WhitMar Exploration Co. recently submitted 200 lease documents to ensure that they have the correct property identification numbers, or PINS. Pin certification is required before the leases are officially recorded in the county recorder of deeds office.

The documents show the company has acquired drilling rights on 5,440 acres in Harveys Lake and the following townships: Ross, Lake, Lehman, Fairmount, Union, Huntington and Jackson.

WhitMar representative Brad Shepard said the company has leased 17,500 acres in Luzerne County to date, with more planned. Shepard said he was too busy with planning meetings Tuesday to explain how the drilling will be executed.

Beth Chocallo, a Lake Township property owner who agreed to lease her 3.29 acres to WhitMar, said she and her husband, Richard, were connected to WhitMar through a seminar.

The couple did not receive any upfront payment, she said. Instead, WhitMar will pay a lease rental after the first year or two and a percentage of the profits if natural gas is extracted, Chocallo said.

Chocallo she is optimistic that gas will be found because she doesn’t believe WhitMar would invest in the time and expense of preparing leases without a strong likelihood.

“Who knows where the gas pockets will be found? It’s not a definite,” she said.

WhitMar plans to grid out territories, paying a profit percentage to the owners of all leased property within that grid if gas is extracted, Chocallo said.

She does not believe a drilling rig will be installed on her property because the parcel is on the smaller side compared to others being leased, but she can’t rule out the possibility. Her main concern was that drilling would cut off or diminish her water supply, but she said WhitMar assured her that the company would replace the well and furnish water if that happens.

The lease documents filed in the county do not contain any details about what will be paid to the property owners.

Property owners are leasing WhitMar the exclusive right to explore for and develop oil and gas, the documents say.

That right includes use of the property for the drilling of oil and gas wells and installation of roads, pipes, pumps, compressors, separators, tanks, power stations and any other necessary equipment, the documents say.

Most, if not all, of the leases are for one year, with the option to extend for an additional 11 years or longer.

Of the 200 leases, Fairmount Township had the most property signed with WhitMar – 2,512 acres – followed by Ross Township with 1,205 acres.

Here’s a breakdown of the other leased acreages: Harveys Lake, 58; Jackson Township, 99; Union Township, 102; Huntington Township, 361; Lake Township, 463; and Lehman Township, 640.

Founded in 1979, WhitMar is a private energy operation actively engaged in drilling and developing natural gas and oil prospects in the United States, according to the company’s Web site.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

Copyright: Times Leader